Oregon House Republican Leader Christine Drazan announced recently she plans to run for governor. And she will join a growing list of potential candidates for the state’s job, but whoever is elected to the state’s top post next year should make bridging the divide between Salem and Eastern O…
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to f…
A decision recently by the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners to approve $2 million in a Pendleton project left a few questions in its wake that elected leaders need to answer sooner rathe…
It is never an easy task to say goodbye to some of the region’s best, but we want to wish the members of Hermiston’s Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry (Armor) the best as they depart…
In his first inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln made an appeal for unity on the eve of the Civil War.
The Thanksgiving holiday is just around the corner and experts are projecting that travel will climb to pre-pandemic levels.
Important people can get lost inside the twisting channels of history and that is why the recent unveiling of a mural on Southwest Dorion Avenue celebrating Black cowboy and Pendleton Round-Up…
Veterans Day rolls around every year and for a 24-hour period — or even less for some — we collectively push our thoughts to those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
The benefits of thinning crowded forests and igniting prescribed fires to get rid of the combustible debris that’s left hardly qualify as newly discovered truths.
In Oregon, the deadline for state workers to be fully vaccinated has passed. Gov. Kate Brown imposed the mandate in an attempt to increase the number of Oregonians who are fully vaccinated. Un…
Back in May, residents of Milton-Freewater made a big sacrifice and followed through on a good decision to pass a $7.7 million bond for a new police department building.
Serving on a public body can seem like a daunting endeavor but there is no better way to give back to your community.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat representing Oregon, has some questions about the causes for a wave of pharmacy closures, most notably those in 56 Bi-Mart stores, including the Baker City store.
Umatilla County voters apparently are going to receive a long run-up to the contested election for a seat on the board of commissioners.
The local area learned of some good news last week when three drop-in peer centers opened, adding another layer of services that will make a difference in the future.
Seven years ago, Oregonians were told that by legalizing marijuana and hemp they could solve an array of problems. Pot smokers could come out of the shadows and hemp could take its place as a …
The good news about the recent surge of the COVID-19 virus locally is that cases appear to be declining.
Family policies being decided at the federal level now will have a major effect on Americans for years to come.
It was just 14 months that Oregonians were singing the praises of firefighters and EMS personnel who raced up Santiam Canyon to rescue those in the path of a wildfire racing down.
It was a small story, a few hundred words, but the tale of the Ukiah School District receiving broadband is one of those feel-good accounts that sometimes can be hard to come by.
Through all the news and statistics, it can be easy to forget the personal toll the COVID-19 virus has had on people in our region and throughout the nation.
Life lessons for many are hard to come by, but for Pendleton’s William Wehrli, dispelling misconceptions about autism and helping others may be his calling.
Our story recently on Andrew Morris, a local man who contracted COVID-19 even after he was vaccinated, showed a man who did everything right to prevent an infection and who ended up asking, “W…
Big tech has been putting large data farms in rural areas in the Pacific Northwest for years to take advantage of cheap hydroelectric power to run them, water to cool them, and generous local …
The Oregon Lottery’s mission is contradictory: make money off gambling and don’t encourage people to gamble too much.
The news that more than half of Oregon’s state employees will get an extra six weeks to get inoculated against COVID-19 was welcome, but the question of what happens after the deadline remains…
The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners made a good decision last week when it agreed to allow a warming station and temporary living huts to be installed on 10 acres of county land to addr…
Break down poverty and unemployment by race and it is worrisome.
The Pendleton Round-Up is a pretty big deal.
At least recently good news can seem hard to find but for those looking for a story that showcases what community and business can do tighter one needs to look no further than the Families Fir…
We have from the start advised those old enough and medically able to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. We have also pressed employers to take reasonable steps to protect their employe…
State lawmakers are poised to meet Sept. 20 to finalize plans to reframe the state’s 90 legislative districts and six congressional districts, but the long-term ramifications are murky and how…
No student attending Baker High School now had yet been born on that sunny September morning that changed America forever.
For decades there have been concerns that foreign investors are buying up farmland in the United States.
Sen. Ron Wyden should get kudos for sponsoring a virtual town hall session in August regarding his River Democracy Act, and the esteemed lawmaker did a good job of answering questions and tryi…
Umatilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan made probably the best point lately when it comes to the ongoing controversy regarding Gov. Kate Brown’s mask and vaccination mandates.
In almost the same breath that state officials announced that an average Oregon taxpayer may get a $850 kicker tax rebate, they were hinting at changing the kicker.
You can only see them with a microscope.
The decision was somewhat of a muted one, but the move by the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners last week to unite its COVID-19 response with Morrow County was a good one.
Heads up, homeowners. For Oregon reformers, you are next.
U.S. Sen Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, will host an online town hall meeting Tuesday, Aug. 31, and if you get the chance, we urge you to listen in.
It will be a tall order to find a better feel-good community story in the near future than the decision by the Hermiston School District to pay for all school supplies for elementary and middl…
Last week, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown reinstituted the mandate that Oregonians must wear masks in public spaces to halt the spread of the COVID Delta variant that threatens to overwhelm hospitals …
There is no way to sugarcoat the bewildering and abysmal departure of the United States from Afghanistan.
The decision the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners made last week to reinstate mask requirements for county employees and for residents visiting county buildings, was the right one.
The Oregon Legislature has hit on a winner with the Irrigation District Temporary Transfers Pilot Project.
You have to hand it to Helix.
It is not a political scandal by any means, but the recent news Gov. Kate Brown spent a large chunk of taxpayer dollars to pay one of her former advisers to serve as a political consultant lea…
When people die in a heat wave, should their names, addresses and race be a matter of public record?
Last week, our school-age children and youth were once again thrust into center of the COVID-19 pandemic when Gov. Kate Brown ordered new mask mandates for K-12 students.
The time for allowing vast tracts of forest on state and federal lands to remain untouched from management is long over. Now, elected leaders and state and federal officials need to develop a …
The Legislature created the Oregon Forest Resources Institute 29 years ago during the timber wars, which featured battles over logging, fierce debates over the role of state and federal forest…
The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners made the right decision last week when it approved nearly $25,000 to pay for COVID-19-related billboards.
There was not much fanfare, but the official reopening of the Oregon’s Capitol last week should be good news for all voters.
It was a bit surprising to discover that some of the rivers proposed for Wild and Scenic designation were dried up or creeks, streams or gulches — not really rivers at all.
